Vaginal specula typically include a pair of angled arms that are pivoted with respect to one another to form a set of jaws at one end and a handle on an opposite end. The handle can be squeezed by the health care provider to separate the set of jaws. The jaws are placed into the closed state upon insertion into the vagina, and the health care provider may subsequently open the jaws an amount necessary to cause the passageway to be sufficiently enlarged. A locking mechanism such as a ratchet arrangement or a pin can be used to lock the pivotal position of the upper and lower arms with respect to one another.
It is possible that once inserted and opened, vaginal tissue making up the lateral walls of the vagina will bulge between the jaws and obstruct the view or hinder the procedure conducted by the health care provider. Although this extra vaginal tissue may be present in all women, it may be more prevalent and problematic in women that are obese or who have been pregnant and have had multiple vaginal deliveries. In order to prevent or minimize this problem, the health care provider may apply additional pressure to the handle to further distend the walls of the vagina to force the tissue bulging into the jaws therefrom. This excessive distension of the vaginal tissue may be uncomfortable for the patient. Certain arrangements have been proposed to prevent tissue from entering the jaws during use. For example, one such arrangement proposes the use of a flexible membrane attached to the sides of the upper and lower arm to prevent vaginal tissue from bulging into the jaws during use.
Vaginal specula are designed in order to be retained within the vagina during times in which the vaginal muscles contract involuntarily. For example, it may be the case that a fit of coughing will cause the vaginal muscles to contract thus causing the inserted vaginal speculum to be ejected from the vagina. To prevent this from happening, the upper and lower arms include both convex and concave outer surfaces when viewed from the side of the arms and when viewed from the tops and bottoms of the arms that function to anchor the vaginal speculum in place once inserted and opened. The convex and concave shapes of the outer surfaces of the arms are also provided in order to exert minimal pressure on the urethra of the patient during use. Although suitable for their intended purpose, such vaginal specula may not provide for optimum patient comfort and health care provider access and observance during use. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement in the art.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.